Thursday 26 September 2024

Beer Guide to the 1970s (part nine)

Another trio of 1970s breweries. Though, this time, two of them are still operating. Good news, eh? Interestingly, both of the survivors are at the small end.

It makes me realise just how random it is which breweries disappear. In the case of smaller breweries, it's often down to personalities. And whether there's a family member willing to take on running the brewery. It's a dilemma which is catching up with many of the pioneers of the craft brewing industry.

Donnington
Donnington,
Gloucestershire.
Founded:    1865
Closed:            still open
Tied houses:    17

A small brewery with one of the most idyllic locations of any in the UK. The tied estate is scattered around the surrounding villages.

beer style format OG description
BB Pale Ale draught 1033 well-balanced
SBA Pale Ale draught 1040 stronger and sweeter
XXX Mild draught 1033 Dark Mild
Light Ale Pale Ale bottled 1033 BB bottled
Double Donn Pale Ale bottled 1040 SBA bottled
Brown Ale Brown Ale bottled 1033 XXX bottled



Eldridge Pope
Dorchester,
Doset.
Founded:    1837
Closed:            1998
Tied houses:    200

Another decent-sized regional brewery from the West Country, based in the county town of Dorchester. They were best known for the powerful Hardy Ale, one of the strongest beers brewed in the UK and one of a handful that remained bottle-conditioned. They unwisely split the brewery and tied estate in the 1990s. with the inevitable result of the brewery closing.

beer style format OG description
Best Bitter Pale Ale draught 1032.6 malty and heavily hopped
Special IPA IPA draught 1041 malty, stronger
Royal Oak Pale Ale draught 1048 malty
XXXX Old Ale draught    
Double Mild Mild draught 1029.8 Dark Mild
Crystal Bright Pale Ale keg 1029.7  
Master Keg Pale Ale keg   higher gravity
Konig Lager Lager keg 1033.5  
Crystal Light Ale Pale Ale bottled 1029.7  
Green Top Pale Ale Pale Ale bottled 1041 bottled IPA
Old Master Strong Ale Strong Ale bottled    
Goldie Barley Wine bottled 1085.3  
Dorset Brown Ale Brown Ale bottled 1024.9 medium sweet
Konig Lager Lager bottled    
Konig Diabetic Lager bottled   sugar free
Konig Imperial De Luxe Lager bottled   high gravity
Hardy Ale Barley Wine bottled 1120 bottle-conditioned



Elgood
Wisbech,
Cambridgeshire.
Founded:    1795
Closed:            still open
Tied houses:    65

Located right in the north of Cambridgeshire, Elgood’s tied estate stretched into Norfolk and Lincolnshire. Which I suppose it still does today. They’ve been saved from takeover both by their small size and family ownership. The beers were pretty good, though the only time I came across them was a beer festivals.

beer style format OG description
Bitter Pale Ale draught 1037 lightly hopped
Mild Mild draught 1030 slightly sweet Dark Mild
Keg Bitter Pale Ale keg   darker than many keg beers
Pale Ale Pale Ale bottled 1030  
Fenman Pale Ale bottled   stronger
Brown Ale Brown Ale bottled 1030 not too sweet
Russet Ale Brown Ale bottled   full sweet
Old English Old Ale bottled   heavy and sweet
Stout Stout bottled 1030 sweet
Iceberg Lager Lager bottled 1033.8  


 

3 comments:

Fremlin's County said...

I enjoyed many pints of Donnington BB and SBA in the Chase, a free house on the the western slopes of the Malvern Hills, during the 90s and early 00s. Lovely, soft, malty, old fashioned beers. So glad the beautiful old brewery is still going, saved I believe by Arkells. It appeared in an episode of the BBC's Father Brown adaptation, which is worth seeking out!

Anonymous said...

No longer making their mild if wikipedia is to be believed.
Oscar

Anonymous said...

After this I read about what happened to Eldridge Pope. It sounds like a case of idiot businessmen trying to turn around a challenging situation by burning it to the ground.